WTT Star Contender Chennai 2026: Desai-Ghorpade enter mixed doubles final
Indian fourth seeds reach final as men’s singles campaign ends with Sathiyan’s quarterfinal defeat.
Fourth seeds Harmeet Desai and Yashaswini Ghorpade remain India’s only title contenders after advancing to the mixed doubles final at the WTT Star Contender Chennai 2026 on Saturday.
The Indian pair dominated the all-Indian semifinal, defeating wild cards Payas Jain and Syndrella Das 3-0 (11-9, 11-6, 11-9). Desai and Ghorpade controlled the rallies from the outset and maintained their composure in key points to secure a straight-games victory.
They will meet second seeds Eduard Ionescu and Bernadette Szocs of Romania in the final. The Romanian duo progressed after their semifinal opponents, third seeds Oh Junsung and Miku Nagasaki, retired while trailing 1-2. Oh’s injury also impacted the men’s doubles event, where the French combination of Flavien Coton and Thibault Poret were declared champions without contesting the final.
Singles campaign ends for India
India’s run in men’s singles concluded in the quarterfinals as Czechia’s Lubomir Jancarik defeated Sathiyan G 3-0 (11-6, 11-8, 13-11). Jancarik continued his strong form against Indian opponents, having earlier eliminated Manush Shah and Manav Thakkar en route to the semifinals, where he will face Korea Republic’s Park Ganghyeon.
In the women’s doubles final, Japan’s Sakura Yokoi and Sachi Aoki claimed the title with a 3-1 win over top-seeded Koreans Ryu Hanna and Kim Nayeong.
With the singles challenge over, Desai and Ghorpade now carry India’s hopes of securing silverware in the second edition of the Chennai tournament.
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